St. Dominic Catholic Church

Homilies

August 19, 2018 - 20th Sunday in Ordinary Time

For many centuries the Church has proclaimed itself to be the one, holy, catholic, and apostolic Church.  We are told that it is the Roman Catholic Church who alone has the fullness of grace and truth.  In other words, we are taught to believe that ‘We’re the best!’  Through the sacraments, instituted by God for grace, we are saved. These very instruments of salvation are administered through a priest who acts in what the Church refers to in technological terms as Persona Christi.  The priest acts in the very person of Jesus Christ.  The priest is the instrument and mediator of God’s grace. His role is especially important in the Sacrament of the Eucharist that makes God present to us.  This is why the revelations this last week about the Catholic Church in Pennsylvania are so disturbing, horrific, and repulsive.  Some of the stories of abuse are outright evil. Let us pray that what has happened to these men and women will never happen again.  Let us resolve that it never happen again at church, in a school, in a locker room, or in a home.

Innocent and trusting children taught to believe in the special holiness of priests; were abused by the very men supposed to be examples and models to them.  A sacred trust was broken.  The Body of Christ is hurting right now!  This past week we have been exposed to the dark, ugly, and evil under side of the hierarchy that has been exposed for all to see. The People of God have a right to be outraged, critical, and suspicious of priests and bishops.  Some may even despair that real change will ever occur.  The friars at St. Dominic’s have spoken of little else than this issue these last few days.  We, too, are sickened and disappointed.  We pray for your forgiveness, on behalf of the Church, for all that priests have done to weaken your faith and your relationship to Christ. We are profoundly sorry.

         The paradox of faith is that God can transform any horrible situation we find ourselves in. God takes the damaged, decaying, and lifeless and transforms it into something whole, vibrant, and generative. The story of Jesus raising Lazarus from the dead is relevant.  It’s meaning is telling.  Jesus goes to the darkest, most rotting, and least inviting place to bring grace. Even Martha said to Jesus when he asked them to roll the stone away, ‘Surely Lord, there will be a stench.’  This past week we have smelled the stench of the Church.  Jesus’ point is that he comes to the worst places to bring his love, his grace, his mercy, and his salvation.  A place of death, rot, and sadness can be transformed into something whole and alive. The Eucharist that we celebrate today is a reminder of just how God takes the base elements of wheat and wine and transforms them into His own Body and Blood.  In the process of taking natural wheat and making it flour, the wheat must undergo violence.  The grains of wheat must be broken and smashed.  Grapes must be crushed and pressed to produce wine.  Like the wheat, the grapes must experience this violence in order to yield their life giving and joyful qualities.  Perhaps this is the silver lining in the crisis we find ourselves that on the other side the Church will emerge as holier, safer, and more devout.

The Mystical Body of Christ is experiencing this crushing and broken moment.  It is painful and sad.  In order for God to transform this darkness into light, we must all pledge to live righteous, just, and loving lives.  We cannot give in to despair.  Be pessimistic, be critical, and even be angry; but please become part of the solution we are all called to be and not separated from this Mystical Body.  Now is not the time to abandon ship.  Solutions to this are a ways away, but we can do some simple things in the meantime.  We must first pray for healing for the abused.  Secondly, pray that the perpetrators and protectors of these abusers face justice in this world as they surely will face it in the world to come.  Thirdly, pray to God asking Him to reveal to you what ideas and behaviors need healing and sanctifying in your own life.  Reform of the top begins with all of us.  We must all strive to be better.  As the prophet Micah says, “Do justice, and love goodness, and walk humbly with your God.”

Fr. Thomas Saucier, OP